PITTSBURG, Kan. — Carl Junction’s girls basketball team advanced to the championship game of the Bill Hanson Memorial Tournament with a 45-42 come-from-behind win over Blue Valley Northwest on Friday at Pittsburg High School.
Carl Junction (14-1) fought back from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to move on to the title game, where they’ll play Kickapoo at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The Huskies from Kansas led 10-8 at the end of the first quarter.
The Bulldogs started the second period on a 9-2 run, with Pittsburg State recruit Destiny Buerge scoring seven during the surge that gave CJ a 17-12 lead.
Carl Junction battled foul trouble in the first half, as both Kylie Scott and Buerge picked up two fouls apiece.
With both Buerge and Scott on the bench, the Huskies scored the final eight points of the first half to take a 20-17 lead.
Free throws from Klohe Burk and Buerge tied the game at 28 late in the third period, but the Huskies reeled off five straight points for a 33-28 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Blue Valley Northwest scored the first four points of the final frame to go up by nine at 37-28.
But Carl Junction responded with a game-changing 16-2 run to take a 44-39 lead with less than a minute to play. Buerge, Scott and Hali Shorter all contributed points during the surge, while the Bulldogs also pressured the Huskies into several turnovers.
Buerge came up with a big steal late in the game, but moments later Blue Valley’s Elise Grosdidier hit a 3-pointer to bring her team within two.
Scott made 1-of-2 at the charity stripe to keep CJ in front by three with 13 seconds left.
After a timeout, the Huskies missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds.
A senior guard, Buerge led Carl Junction with 22 points.
Scott had seven points, with six coming in the fourth quarter. Burk scored six, Dezi Williams had four and Shorter and Jadyn Howard added three points apiece.
